Mat.



E. P. WHITE.

MAT.

APPLICATION FILED 313.23, 1909.

. L045762a Patented Nov. 26, 1912.

EDMOND P. WHITE, OF CHICAGG, ILLINOIS.

MAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 26, i912.

Application led February 23, 1909. Serial No. 479,581.

r"o all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, EDMOND P. WHITE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Mats, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates particularly to improvements in the class of matsthat ordinarily are made of rubber and similar material. Such mats whenrolled are liable to crack or break, and it is one of the objects ofthis invention to provide a rubber mat which may be rolled up withoutinjury.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mat from which wornportions may be removed and new portions substituted.

The invention also relates to the other improvements in mats hereinafterset forth.

ln the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a top plan view of a matembodying the features of my invention. Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of a modication. Fig. A isa similar view of another modified form. Fig. 5 is a top plan view ofthe form illustrated in Fig. A.

The mat shown in Fig. l is substantially rectangular, but it will beunderstood that a mat embodying the features of my invention may be anydesired outline. As shown in Fig. l, the mat is sectional, each sectionconsisting of a member l of rubber or similar material, which member maybe of any suitable form, for example, in the form of a disk. rlhemembers l are preferably separable one from the other; hence, in thepresent instance, each is represented as provided with a surroundingframe 2 which may be in the form of a ring, the members 1 beingperipherally grooved as at 3 to receive the ring.

The means herein shown for securing the sections of the mat togetherconsists of closed loops or links 4l connecting the rings 2 of adjacentsections. Notches 5 may be provided in the periphery of the members l toreceive the ends of said links.

As suggested in Figs. 3 and l the sections of the mat need not be soliddisks of rubber, but may comprise members 6 of annular form, saidmembers 6 being stiffened by means such as a ring 7 engaging in a groove8 in the walls of the central opening of the member.

Each section of the mat may have a covering or facing 9 upon its upperside, which covering may be of leather or other durable material. inFig'. l such a covering has been shown as applied to the form of sectionrepresented in Fig. 3, the leather covering being attached to the rubberring in the process of vulcanizing, or in any other suitable manner. lfdesired, the covering 9 may have one or more metal wear plates 10thereon, as indicated in Figs. A and 5. The wear plates may be in theform of rivets set in the covering 9.

A mat construct-ed in accordance with my invention is very flexible andmay be rolled up from any side without injury to the mat. When anysection of the mat becomes suiliciently worn to make desirable itsrenewal, it may be readily forced from its inclosing ring 2 and anothersection placed in said ring.

l would have it understood that I desire not to be limited to thedetails of construction herein shown and described, for variousmodiications will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a mat a plurality of sections each comprising a rubber member anda surrounding metallic frame, and links flexibly connecting saidsections together so that the mat may be bent or rolled in anydirection.

2. In a mat, a plurality of relatively thin horizontally disposedmetallic rings arranged edge to edge, circular members of yieldingmaterial fitting in said rings, each of said members having a grooverunning about its periphery to receive its ring, and relatively smalllinks each having its ends looped through two adjacent rings, wherebyeach ring is ieXibly connected to the rings surrounding it. v

3. A mat comprising a plurality of members of yielding materialconnected together, and a covering for each of said members.

t. A mat comprising a plurality of members of yielding materialconnected together, a covering for each of said members, and metallicwear plates fixed to said coverings.

5. A mat consisting of a plurality of similar sections, each sectioncomprising a member of yielding material having an opening therein, aframe surrounding said member, a sti'ening part fitting in said opening,and a wearing covering on the upper side of said member and coveringsaid opening.

6. A mat consisting of a plurality of similar sections, each sectioncomprising a member of yielding material having an opening therein, aframe surrounding said member', a stiffening part fitting in saidopening, a Wearing covering on the upper side oi said member andcovering said opening, and metallic Wear plates fixed to said Wearingcovering.

7. A mat comprising a plurality of rings fiexibly loosely connectedtogether, circular members of yielding material fitting in said rings,and leather coverings for said members.

8. A mat comprising a plurality of rings flexibly connected together,circular members of yielding material fit-ting in said rings, leathercoverings for said members, and a plurality of metallic Wear platesfixed to each of said leather coverings.

9. A mat comprising a plurality of rings connected together, annularmembers of yielding material fitting in said rings, rings tting in theinner surface of said annular members, and leatherl disks covering saidannular members and the openings therein.

10. A mat comprising a plurality of rings connected together, annularmembers of yielding material fitting in said rings, rings fitting in theinner surface of said annular members, leather disks covering saidannular members and the openings therein, and a plurality of metallicWear plates fixed to each of said leather disks.

l1. A mat consisting of a plurality of substantially similar sectionslying side by side and spaced apart, each section comprising arelatively thin metallic ring, a member of resilient material fitting ineach ring and having a groove in its edge to receive said ring, andmetallic loops extending through each ring and flexibly connecting eachsection to every adjacent section, said members having notches thereinadapted to receive the ends of said loops and hold said loops in`position on said rings.

Vitnesses:

C. PAUL PARKER, GEORGE L. CHINDAHL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. GQ

